


The Big Bang Theory

by Tiashe_Silverfox



Category: Promare (2019)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Christmas, Kissing Booths, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-25
Updated: 2019-12-25
Packaged: 2021-02-26 03:55:09
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,524
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21946921
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tiashe_Silverfox/pseuds/Tiashe_Silverfox
Summary: Lio Fotia attempts to run an errand at a local mall with Gueira and Meis when a chance encounter at a mistletoe kissing booth, and this is not an understatement, changes his life.
Relationships: Lio Fotia/Galo Thymos
Comments: 3
Kudos: 72
Collections: Under the Mistletoe





	The Big Bang Theory

**Author's Note:**

> Promare0919 is the original creator for this story. (I can't tag them as co-creator! WHY AO3!?
> 
> I help them post this because they don't have time to post it, so applause for them, instead of me.

Lio Fotia hates two things: malls (too loud and crowded) and the holiday season (too commercialized).

He’s in one of the former now because of the latter, shopping for gifts with his best friends Gueira and Meis for their White Elephant work celebration. They’d insisted, about all of it, because they wanted to see him put himself out there just a _little_ more. To have more people around him that he’s genuinely close to. He’s only doing it for them; he hasn’t ever cared about what others think of him, they’re not necessarily exempt from that, and he wasn’t planning on doing so anytime soon.

That changes today, as they walk up to an attraction around the middle of the mall called a “Mistletoe Booth.”

Lio narrows his eyes. Meis and Gueira look upon it with mild interest.

Until they spot the silhouette of a man inside the booth, and until he turns around.

Lio is immediately stunned, but not in the way one would perhaps expect: The first thing he sees is this guy’s hair, and _oh my goodness._ It’s a mess. Like, it’s not unruly, every spike is perfectly in place somehow, but it’s rather a spectacle to behold, kind of like royal blue porcupine quills.

Then he notices how tightly his black T-shirt appears to fit him, that he can spot at least a six-pack through it, how ripped his arms are.

Finally, and most importantly, his gaze strays to his face. While he’s been gawking at him, the stranger’s bent down outside the booth to talk with his newest customer, a little girl who looks to be around five years old. Confusion briefly cuts through his lovesickness, and it’s enough for him to realize that scrawled messily across the top of the attraction is the phrase “FAMILY-FRIENDLY!” To that end, he hears the bluenette asking for the child’s permission to give her a hug. She happily assents, he embraces her cautiously for a couple of seconds, and then she and her guardian go on their way.

The man’s beaming from ear to ear as he retreats into the booth. His eyes are shining, just as bright and warm as any winter holiday decoration, just as colorful with their blues and pinks.

_Holy shit._ He _is_ quite handsome, but much more importantly, he’s a welcome ray of sunshine, he seems to value enthusiastic consent (not like any of the other bastards who’ve attempted to hit on him solely because of his looks), and he’s wonderful with children (he’d only recently begun entertaining the idea of becoming a parent).

In other words, this individual that he’s stumbled upon by chance is meeting all his standards.

Lio subtly digs his teeth into his bottom lip. He’s never really been one for crushes, never really been interested in anyone like that. And so he’s never put any stock into the expression “love at first sight.”

Now? Now he thinks he’s starting to understand it.

Gueira and Meis, the jerks, are too close and attuned to him not to notice that one sign. So they do the next obvious thing.

Surprisingly strong to anyone who doesn’t know him, Meis puts his hand on Lio’s back and pushes him towards the booth. Gueira walks ahead of him, briefly chatting it up with the stranger.

“Meis! No, damn it, I know what you’re – !!”

And then he’s in front of him, and _most_ everything else becomes white noise.

Not the man, though, and not Gueira. The former had been smiling as he’d been dragged up to him, but now he’s become intensely serious.

_Also a great look on him,_ Lio’s mind supplies most unhelpfully.

“ – I don’t want to be that guy in more ways than one, your friend doesn’t look like he’s at 100%. I’ll refund your money if you want, or you can just leave it as a donation, but I’m not going to do anything with him like this.”

Meis and Gueira visibly startle, then share A Look. It’s a pair of expressions Lio’s intimately familiar with: They already approve of him.

_What exactly is happening right now?_

At the very least, Lio’s aware that he’s utterly embarrassing himself. He can’t bring himself to move away or even speak,and a queue’s forming behind him.

He can’t turn away from him, either.

For several seconds too long, they stare at each other. In that time, the bluenette starts looking bemused, then uneasy.

“… Hey, are you OK?”

Something in him abruptly splinters, and through the cracks an inferno seeps into his chest. Because of what he’d call his posh British upbringing, and being an entry-level businessman in a flooded market, he’s used to carefully controlling himself, to laying low, to quietly meeting everyone’s expectations of him without fail. (It’s not like that with Meis and Gueira, but he digresses.) And he realizes that, for whatever reason, this is the one thing he’s wanted so badly in a really, really long time. Even if he also believes that it’ll only last for a couple of fleeting moments in his life.

So, fuck it.

Gueira, Meis, and this man are that worried about him? Oh, he’ll give them all something to _really_ concern themselves with.

“… Yes, I apologize. I’m fine, just zoned out.” With no further explanations, because that isn’t any of his business (yet), he adds, “My name is Lio Fotia. My friend Gueira paid for a kiss for me, I’m assuming?”

The stranger blinks. He can almost see the whiplash going through his head. “Yeah?”

“If you don’t mind still, I’d like to take advantage of it.”

That look from before is directed at him as he gives him a once-over. Apparently satisfied with his second assessment, he lights up again. “I don’t know what just went down, but you seem fine now, so that’s good! I’m GaloThymos, with the FDPP! If you’re feeling faint again or whatever, let me know. I’ve got you!”

In the face of such an unintentionally romantic one-liner, all Lio can do to not burst into flames is nod.

“But, let’s be real here, are you seriously up for this?”, Galo follows up, expression becoming somber. “I don’t want to do this if you’re not prepared for it, and we don’t need to. I know some people don’t joke around about this kind of thing, and I’m one of them.”

_Shit._ This man truly is incredible, just his type, if he even has one.

_Focus._ Lio levels his gaze with his, with as much determination as he can muster. “Yes. I am.” He was going to say that it’s not that big a deal, but he’d be lying.

Galo nods and stands up with a small smile. Luckily for Lio, the attraction isn’t all that big, so he ends up only a couple of inches above him.

“Alright. On your mark, then.”

“I’m good to go,” Lio replies, pulling him down to him. Galo flinches a little, not even having a second to respond in turn, but it ultimately doesn’t matter.

When their lips meet, Lio notes that Galo’s are chapped, but he revels in the flavor of gingerbread cookies (Aina had made them), sweet but spicy like he prefers. Kind of similarly, Galo realizes that Lio’s are soft, that he tastes like a cinnamon latte, and he likes things with a kick to them. In other words, it honestly feels magical for them. Lio takes it a step further, pushing his tongue into Galo’s mouth, and _holy fuck – !!_

After what feels like hours, it’s Galo who gently removes himself from Lio. They’re both a bit out of breath.

Lio, whose visage is completely red, smirks cockily. A blush overtakes Galo, and he scrubs his face hard with his firefighting gloves to try to make himself look presentable like before.

Eventually, he grins right back, feral, and without processing it first, he booms, “Well, well, not bad, Lio Fotia! You got me with that kiss: I admit defeat! But feel free to come back again! I’m here for the month, and next time, _I’ll_ be the one who wins!”

Lio’s eyes widen, and his confident façade falters. Oh, shit, did he actually say something that idiotic out loud??? Aina would kill him if she were here, wouldn’t she – ?

But Lio quickly seems to remember himself, because he smiles in what he’d say is a _hungry_ way and declares, “Oh? I’ll be looking forward to it, Galo Thymos.” Then he slips something into one of the hands dropped at his side and whispers, “But not here. I’d prefer somewhere a little more… private. Where we can do _whatever_ we want.”

_Oh. Fuck._

Of course, it’s his name plus his _phone number._ Galo stills and glances back up to make sure that this is really happening, but Lio’s already leaving with his two friends, who are looking right at him and mouthing “Thanks, man!” and giving him two thumbs-ups.

Welp. He’s not dreaming!!

* * *

“Hey, guys, I’m back! You’re never going to believe this, I think I found my soulmate today!!!”

(“Whaaaaat?! And we missed it?! Damn it, Galo, how did you even manage that – ?!”)

**Author's Note:**

> This story’s title comes from a mistake: In the Promare Discord server I’m a part of, we decided to create either fanart or fanfics under the theme “mistletoe kissing booth.” We thought that’s known as a big bang, until someone else informed us that a big bang’s actually a much bigger type of project. Besides, this is a tale of boy meets boy, lol
> 
> Also, I didn’t want to make enthusiastic consent a focal point of this story because it’s not the right avenue for that, so I hope it didn’t come across as though I did. With that, I did headcanon that Lio gets hit on a lot because, well, duh; he hates it (so he tries to avoid zeroing in on anyone’s looks); and Galo wouldn’t just kiss anyone who’d walk up to his booth, kids included. Like how if he were a Christmas elf, and he saw a kid who was clearly uncomfortable with meeting Santa, he’d stop that crap then and there.
> 
> Lastly, I headcanon’ed that Lio’s a businessman here because, in an interview with Trigger staff, they indicated that both he and Galo could be as old as entry-level businessmen, i.e., in their mid-20s. I wanted to write a real self-indulgent AU for once removed from the canon setting, so voila.


End file.
